When I first heard the term "just in time" learning, I admit I stifled an exasperated moan. I mean, really? Isn't "just in time" learning another way for corporations to accelerate deadlines and diminish the time and effort that learning specialists devote to analysis and careful development of materials that truly engage the learner and satisfy learning (and therefore business) objectives? Maybe...but maybe not.
Having had professional experience in both education and private business sectors, I can honestly say there will never be a shortage of both sides of the fence trying to accomplish more in less time and with less resources. Is trying to achieve that goal so awful? Are we not all trying to do that in our personal lives every day? Cleaning products promise to do the job in half the time. Hair treatments promise to save precious minutes each morning. Pre-cut veggies in the produce department promise less time in the kitchen and more time with the family - fast food drive-thrus promise even more. Everywhere we look, we're trying to achieve quality results in less time and using up fewer of our precious resources. The question is whether we're willing to sacrifice quality to achieve these results. In the case of fast food, we may achieve more time with our families but may have to sacrifice quality, tasty meals and - if chosen often enough - our health and eventually lifespan in the process.
Just in time training has the potential to head towards ugly results. Using it too often as a shortcut instead of well planned and executed training can harm business or education goals. Good training involves taking the time to properly analyze the situation and develop the best methods to obtain learning objectives. In real life, however, there are simply times when the need to teach material is too urgent to employ a full ADDIE process for training creation. In these situations, quick methods such as podcasts, video clips, or simple software demonstrations can be effective ways to meet learning objectives and business needs. If used too often and in the wrong situations, creating quick snippets of material can backfire.
I think of when email distribution lists were first popular and how quick and effective it was to blast information out to everyone and their brother via email. In time, our email inboxes became flooded with messages that weren't meaningful to us and wasted precious minutes each day trying to wade through what was and wasn't important material. Soon, we became adept at creating multiple folders and auto-sending these messages there without having to glance at them. So is the danger with overuse of just in time learning. If every speck of information is communicated out to students or colleagues with quick video clips or podcasts, these too become noise that needs to be filtered by our audience.
Just in time learning has the potential to be a great tool when used appropriately. Involving learning professionals in the decision making process for how material will be communicated is essential. At my company, I am lucky to be consulted to determine how information will be disseminated or taught to our employees. By analyzing the request from an adult learning and business perspective, my team can quickly make a decision on whether materials can be sent in simple summaries or whether self-paced training modules can be created or - in some cases - whether in-person training sessions are the only responsible way to ensure learning objectives are met. By understanding both the goal and instructional methodology, training and development professionals are best equipped to judge whether or not the time and effort saved offers any real benefit in the end.
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